The wait is over. The hoped for confirmation from the DNR never came, but the hunter who shot Hope came forward to provide us with some facts via email. The hunter said he shot a yearling female at his bait the evening of Friday September 16. She was alone and he had no clue it was Hope. We know the hunter and he has been cooperative and helpful in the past. He would never shoot a collared bear—and he would not have deliberately shot Hope.
Here is the chain of events. Hope was last seen with Lily and Faith at 7:05 PM on September 14 at one of the dozen feeding stations in the community. Residents of this community have been feeding bears since 1961. As a result, there are no bad food years here and bear problems run 80% below the state average. In this year of scarce wild food, the feeding stations were especially important in keeping bears out of trouble.
The hunter's bait was 1200 to 1600 yards from the 3 feeding stations Lily and her family have visited this fall between excursions to forage for scarce wild foods. About 4 PM on September 15, Lily and family found the hunter’s bait. The next afternoon, September 16, the family returned to the area and bedded 165 yards away. In the evening, Hope was the one that got up and went to the bait first. We believe the hunter when he said Hope came to his bait alone.
Most bears taken in the hunt are 1-2 years old so the fact he shot a yearling is not unusual. He is not a trophy hunter, but shoots smaller bears for the quality of their meat. And he eats what he kills. He also is not a member of the ‘Lily: A bear with a bounty’ page and has never posted there.
Unfortunately, our update of September 17 said we had visited Lily and family. In fact, we did not see Hope or Faith on the 17th. Sue found Lily alone and changed her GPS unit. When Lily walked away grunting and tongue-clicking—the contact vocalizations mothers make to their cubs—we assumed Hope and Faith were nearby. We had no reason to believe otherwise. We are sorry for any confusion this caused. We are human and make mistakes.
In retrospect, there may have been clues we missed. Lily was not her usual self when Sue met up with her on the 17th. She allowed Sue to change her GPS unit but didn’t stay around to finish the nuts. Sue chocked Lily’s behavior up to the lethargy we see in bears at this time of year. They’re slowing down in preparation for denning. Mothers slow down long before their cubs and their cubs often roam without them. That was Hope’s undoing. It is possible Lily’s apparent lethargy may have been her response to the sudden loss of Hope.
Another clue was Faith’s peculiar reaction when we checked on Lily’s family September 21—the day after the picture of Lily and Faith walking on the road. As we approached, Faith moved away rather than towards us like she usually does. She seemed less confident without big sister Hope around.
Where do we go from here? It’s an emotional time for all of us. At first it’s tears. Then it’s anger and a search for why. Then a sense of loss sets in. We appreciate your support through all of this. It’s a time to come together, and we’re glad to have many old Lily fans gathering together with us.
Please respect our desire to keep the hunter’s name confidential. Attacks on him or hunters in general will only serve to undermine our potential for future research and education.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center